The two candidates running to become the next mayor of St. Pete Beach faced off in a debate Tuesday night.
Incumbent Steve McFarlin, 57, and challenger Maria Lowe, 37, agreed that one major issue facing the city is implementing the Comprehensive Plan.
"We are involved in some lawsuits. There's a few people that just don't want to accept democracy in its current state," said McFarlin. "We're trying to push that forward to get some redevelopment going."
"The city has had a long divide between development and non-development," said Lowe. "A divide that I'm not a part of and I really want to see us move forward."
The mayoral candidates disagree that street repairs will be a major problem in the future.
"Potholes. Our city, we have some that will laugh at 'patch-a-grille wave' because the patches are so severe," Lowe said. "Something simple as potholes the city is not taking care of."
"The fact is we just appropriated several million dollars worth for road improvements from our savings of merging with the Sheriff's Department," McFarlin said. "They're scheduled to start this year."
Another big gap between the candidates is how long they've lived in St. Pete Beach. McFarlin said he's a 19-year resident, while Lowe said she's lived there for about a year and a half.
"I just couldn't walk off and have someone with a 17-month residency take over this city," said McFarlin.
"Age is just a number," said Lowe. "As far as my time here, it's how you use the time that you have, not how much time."
Two city commission seats are also up for grabs. The election is March 11.